Athens Co. Dem Party chair indicted in connection with alleged voter bounties

Already facing multiple felony counts for alleged mishandling of funds in a political campaign, Athens County Democratic Party Chair Susan Gwinn was indicted on two more charges Monday, for her alleged involvement in a plan to pay student campaign volunteers a $5 bounty for every voter they brought out for early voting Oct. 30 in Athens.

The Ohio University College Democrats, however, who were allegedly also involved in the plan, will not face any charges, according to the special prosecutor handling the case.

"œWe've got young people, students, not judicious... who are following the lead of a licensed professional, an adult," said special prosecutor Dave Yost. "œTo the extent that there's culpability, we don't think it rests with the students." He added that the College Dems have cooperated in his investigation.

On top of the charges already pending against Gwinn of theft in office, money laundering, unauthorized use of property, and falsification, an Athens County grand jury has now added two counts of elections-related bribery.

The charges relate to Gwinn's alleged involvement in a plan to pay members of the OU College Democrats $5 for every voter they brought to the polls in the city of Athens' Fourth Ward on Election Day, Nov. 3. That ward was the only one in the city that had a contested City Council race.

Gwinn, citing a gag order that has been imposed by the judge in her case, declined to comment on the new charges Monday. Until last year, Gwinn had served for several years as chair of the Athens County Board of Elections.

Delaware County Prosecutor Yost was appointed as a special prosecutor to investigate Gwinn's alleged campaign-finance violations during her 2008 run for Athens County prosecutor, in which she tried unsuccessfully to unseat incumbent C. David Warren in the Democratic primary.

The first indictment was based on allegations that Gwinn tried to cover up the source of $27,000 in campaign donations from her brother and another man, by treating them as personal loans and not listing them on her campaign finance report.

In a "superseding indictment" that includes the previous charges, an Athens County grand jury has added the two new bribery charges. The indictment, based on a broadly worded state law, alleges that during an election Gwinn did knowingly "solicit, request, demand, receive, or contract for any money, gift, loan, property, influence, position, employment, or other thing of value for (herself) or another person for voting or refraining from voting..."

The second count, based on another section of the same statute, claims that Gwinn did "give, lend, offer, or procure or promise to give, lend, offer or procure" something of value to a delegate, elector or other person in connection with the election.

Both counts are fourth-degree felonies.

Yost noted Monday that he's constrained by the gag order from talking in much detail about the case. He acknowledged, however, that the state law underlying the new counts against Gwinn is "a pretty broad statute," which makes it illegal to offer anything of value to anyone to get them to vote or not vote, or apparently to "another person" to get a person to vote or not to vote.

The latter instance is the crime that's being alleged in this case.

The College Democrats have stated categorically that none of their volunteers ever took any money for their get-out-the-vote efforts, and that no voter was ever paid.

Yost said, however, that he thinks the $5 bounty plan is part of the same pattern of dodgy behavior on Gwinn's part as party chair that led to the earlier indictment. He said he believes paying volunteers to bring out voters on a per-head basis, or offering to pay them in this manner, does fall under the law's restriction.

"There's a difference between advocacy and paying people by the vote," he argued.

Asked whether this means that it's illegal to pay people for get-out-the-vote work, or whether the illegality stems from the per capita nature of the payment, Yost responded, "these are arguments that we're going to have in court, I'm sure."

He did say that as he reads the law, it can be violated even if no money changes hands, as long as the offer is made.

"It's like trafficking in drugs," he said, noting that it's illegal even to offer an illicit drug for sale, even if the purchase doesn't happen.

The story of the so-called "vote bounty" first broke with the publicizing of an e-mail that an official of the College Dems had sent to group members the Friday before the election, in which she urged them to bring out voters for early voting, and stated, "Remember, if you bring a friend from the 4th Ward, they are more than a friend, they're 5 bucks!"

The group has vehemently defended itself against any claim of wrongdoing, and said the plan was Gwinn's idea. She, in turn, has told reporters that while "discussions" were held about paying volunteers for get-out-the-vote efforts, the plan was never implemented.

Gwinn told the Columbus Dispatch, in a story on Nov. 3, that "the whole situation has been blown out of proportion," and that she "had no idea" why the College Democrats member sent out the "5 bucks" e-mail on Oct. 30.

She issued a formal statement on Nov. 2 denying that either she or the party intended to offer money for votes or ever paid anyone to vote. Subsequently, it became evident that this wasn't the accusation, but rather that the alleged plan called for rewarding canvassers for each voter they brought to the polls.

Gwinn's supporters have called the case against her a political vendetta by Warren "“ payback for her having tried to oust him, an incumbent Democrat, while Gwinn was serving as party chair. Others have noted that Yost, a Republican, is running for Ohio attorney general, and would certainly have a motive to want to damage one of the stronger Democratic county parties in the state.

Yost, however, denied any political motivation.

"I was chosen to (serve as special prosecutor) in August of 2008, and I wasn't running for anything," he said. "I'm simply doing my job."

While a felony conviction could be a basis for the Ohio Supreme Court to pull Gwinn's law license, Yost noted that such an action is not mandatory.

Asked whether he has any other potential defendants in mind in the case, Yost replied, "Not at this time."

After this situation erupted in early November, Chris Redfern, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, called for Gwinn's resignation as Athens County Democratic Party chair. A few days later, Athens Law Director Patrick Lang, a Democrat, also called on Gwinn to resign, in an op-ed in The Athens NEWS.

Monday afternoon, Redfern stood by his earlier call for Gwinn to resign. "If one cares deeply about their constituents, which in this case are the Democrats of Athens County, then it's clear that she should step aside sooner rather than later," he said.

Up to now, Gwinn had refused to resign.